Questions and Reform Jewish Answers: New American Reform Responsa

by Walter Jacob

This volume will provide not only new perspectives on old issues, but it will introduce new questions as well.

443 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Walter Jacob was an American Reform rabbi. He was rabbi at the Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh from 1955 to 1997. He served as chairman of organizations such as the Central Conference of American Rabbis and World Union for Progressive Judaism. Jacob wrote a book, Christianity Through Jewish Eyes in 1974, leading to interfaith dialogue. He founded the Solomon B. Freehof Institute for Progressive Halakhah in 1991, an international forum for Jewish law. In Germany, he co-founded the Abraham Geiger College, the first rabbinic seminary in Central Europe since the Holocaust, in 1999.

Reviews

[Arthur Gershman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an essential tool on the bookshelf of any Reform Rabbi.
It represents the modern answer to the Responsa method, a millenia-old Jewish tradition of answering important contemporary questions which are not specifically treated by the Torah or its interpretive texts. The methodology employed attempts to determine the principles underlying the source material and apply the principles to the issue presented. As applied to present day questions within the Reform Jewish movement, typically a congregant of a synagogue whose rabbi is a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis is referred to the Responsa Committee with the question which the member rabbi himself feels unqualified or uneasy in answering. The question is then posed, perhaps in a more suitable reformulation, to the Responsa Committee by the Chairman, who then gathers the answers of the Committee members and synthesizes a draft of the Responsum which is circulated to the Committee members.
What is the responsibility of an AIDS carrier? Shall CPR be given to the frail elderly? Can genetic engineering be patented? May a Torah be loaned conditionally? Can there be a 'berit' for Messiac Jews? What is the relationship of Jews to Hindus? May a criminal be a member of the congregation? May a 'tallit' be worn at an interfaith service? Are any plantings appropriate in a cemetary? May a wedding be video taped? Must a Jewish lawer defend terrorists? 246 such questions are answered in this volume.
If you are a Rabbi, or just want to know how they think,
this is the book for you.

[Patrick Aleph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tool to understand liberal approaches to halacha